


Watch Over Me

by philote_auctor



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Tag, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-10 05:16:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12292065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/philote_auctor/pseuds/philote_auctor
Summary: In which Mac might be reading too much into his father's watch and Jack just wants to make things better for his friend.Tag for the second season opener, "DIY or DIE."





	Watch Over Me

Mac was brooding.

The revelation of the tiny picture hidden in the watch had clearly touched a nerve. Jack had been planning to head out for the night before MacGyver had called him back over, but he wasn’t about to leave the younger man alone with his thoughts now. He watched as Mac stared at the fire, jaw tight and fingers flipping the photo over and over.

“Can I see?”

Mac startled, almost as if he’d forgotten Jack was there. When Jack nodded towards the picture, he handed it over. Jack took it carefully. It was smaller than a thumbnail; a precious item that could be easily lost or damaged. The fact that it hadn’t been over such a long period of time spoke volumes.

He peered at the image of 10-year-old Mac and smiled. “Look at that cutie.”

Mac rolled his eyes. “Jack.”

He leaned up and nudged Mac in the shoulder. “Not that you’re not _still_ an adorable kid.”

Mac huffed and held out his hand expectantly. Jack laid the photo back in his friend’s palm and watched as he carefully placed it back where he’d found it.

As Mac began to put the watch back together, Jack couldn’t help but remember the look on his face when they’d first found it. Surprise and a hint of joy had quickly given way to concern and disappointment. They’d found a concrete piece of the memory, but not the man. 

Jack was grateful he’d been on the trip to support the kid, even though it broke his heart a little bit. He hated to see Mac hurting and not be able to do anything about it. But experience had taught him when to push and when to wait for Mac to come to him.

And so he waited now; long minutes with only the crackling fire to break the silence until Mac spoke again. “I don’t know what it means,” he confessed. “I just don’t know him well enough to know what he was thinking.”

“Hey.” Jack ducked his head to catch Mac’s gaze. “I really do hope it’s a clue; a message for you. But if not…well, maybe it’s been in there for years, man. It could just mean that he wanted to keep you close.”

Mac looked away and strapped the band back onto his wrist with a little more force than was necessary. “That’s much easier to do if you actually _stay_ close.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jack said softly.

Mac glanced back to him and sighed, visibly deflating a bit. “Sorry. I don’t mean to take it out on you.”

Jack shrugged and offered him an easy grin. “I can take it.”

Mac’s lips quirked up slightly into a sad smile. “Thanks.”

“You know I’ve got your back, brother. Always.” He punctuated the comment with a physical pat on the back.

Mac took a slightly less than steady breath and didn’t respond verbally. But he did lean back into the touch. Jack took the hint and kept his hand on the kid’s back, rubbing softly.

It was rare for Mac to seek affection. He received and gave back pretty easily if someone else initiated, but he wouldn’t ask for it. Jack was no psychologist, but he suspected that was the result of too much loss and of being the too-smart, odd kid everywhere he went. Thank God for his grandfather, and for Bozer.

He knew everything that had happened to Mac had brought him to this point; had made him into the man he was. Since Jack loved that man like a brother and respected the hell out of him and genuinely liked him to boot, he couldn’t complain too much about the circumstances that had shaped him. All the same, his instinctual reaction to anything that hurt Mac was to hurt it in return.

In that regard, he’d had moments of wanting to toss that watch over a cliff. He wasn’t sure if it was more of a comfort or a torment. Right now, as Mac was studying it again with far too much intensity, he was sure it was the latter.

“Whatcha thinking?” he prodded gently.

Mac absently traced the hour hand. “Twice around every twenty-four hours. Fourteen times in a week; seven hundred and thirty times a year.” He trailed off, but Jack knew the calculation continued in his head. Hours bleeding into too many years, pinpointed to the day—maybe even the minute—when he’d last seen his father.

Jack took a last swallow of his beer and set the bottle off to his left. Then he reached out and pinched Mac’s side, provoking a little jump. “Twice extra on leap year.”

Mac batted his hand away and Jack relented, for now. Someday he was going to pin the kid down and tickle him until he laughed, hysterical and uninhibited. Mac didn’t laugh near enough.

At least he was grinning a little now as he shook his head. “Of course, can’t forget leap year.” He probably hadn’t forgotten it, but he didn’t say so. “What would I do without you, Jack?”

“I shudder to wonder.”

“And I’d like to not find out anytime soon.” 

The unexpectedly pointed comeback made Jack’s eyes narrow. “Bozer told you.”

“He might’ve mentioned that he had to save your life, yeah.”

Jack cleared his throat. “Well, I had it handled, of course. But it’s good for his confidence to let him save the day every once in a while.”

Mac just arched an eyebrow and gave him a look.

Jack sighed and caved. “Okay, but if anyone else asks, I had it handled.”

Mac’s jaw tightened, all traces of joking gone. “Jack.”

“Hey, I’m fine. That’s why we’ve got the best team there is; why we’ve got each other’s backs.”

“I know. I just don’t like the fact that I wasn’t there.”

Jack looked down to hide a grin. It warmed him to get the reminder that, though he may be the older and more demonstrative partner here, the protectiveness ran both ways. Aloud he said, “Kind of a sick, twisted feeling in your gut?”

“Yep, that’s the one.” They shared a knowing look.

Jack could’ve waxed poetical about how that was what it meant to care but the benefits were worth it, but he didn’t. Mac knew all of that anyway. Instead he cleared his throat. “We should go get some rest. ‘Cause I gotta tell you, I’m getting a little tipsy. At any moment I might start singing some Sinatra.”

It earned him a snort of laughter. “Thanks for the warning.” Mac pushed himself to his feet and held out a hand. “C’mon then, old man.”

“Oh, them’s fightin’ words. You better be careful there, kiddo.” Jack took the hand, using it for leverage to pull himself up and to unbalance Mac, catching his friend up in a bear hug in one smooth motion. He squeezed him tight and patted his back a couple of times. Mac was grinning when he released him. Jack grabbed his wrist, purposefully covering the watch with his hand. “Hey. We got this, right?”

‘This’ might’ve meant anything from the deep emotions of the mess with Mac’s father to karaoke night this weekend. Mac looked him in the eye and nodded. “Yeah, I think we do.”

And, as they headed their respective ways for the night, if Jack started humming “Someone to Watch Over Me,” well, Mac didn’t comment other than a shy dip of his head and a not-so-hidden smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The characters and situations of _MacGyver_ do not belong to me. I make no money from this story.
> 
> Author's Note: This was originally started for the 24 hour challenge at fan_flashworks. I didn't finish it in time (oh, the irony), so just posting here now. First time writing this fandom, but I've adored the show from the start.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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